Chairman of the Board and CEO

David Prior has over 27 years of business experience across all areas of business development and management. David worked with BHP for 11 years in various roles, commencing his career as an electrical trainee on the plant, David went on to gain experience in the IT department and later the finance department of BHP. David headed up the design for BHP’s new SAP costing solution in 1991.

David left BHP to start up SETAC Australia in 1994, an SAP system integration company that grew to employ over 100 people with annual revenue of A$30 million in 4 years. David successfully sold SETAC in 1998 to Brightstar a US based listed IT company. He subsequently spent a year with Brightstar Australia as the National Sales Director responsible for a service budget of A$60 million.

At the end of 1999 David left Brightstar to establish Plaut Australia a subsidiary of Plaut International a €350M professional services company. In late 2000, Plaut International decided to wind back a number of global subsidiaries including Australia.   Having established a credible SAP team and strong sales pipe during 2000, David purchased the Australian arm of Plaut continued to build and develop it.

David has successfully steered Plaut Australia through its initial ten years of growth. In January 2010, David appointed Mark Alder as CEO and David took up the position of company chairman. 

David has recently started PeopleFirst Consulting, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plaut Australia focused on the supply of experienced resources direct to the market.

David’s key strength is in the start up phase of businesses. He provides the entrepreneurial flair and visionary thinking required to ensure companies remain relevant and contemporary.  David is currently Chairman of Plaut, a Director of PeopleFirst Consulting Pty Ltd, TK10 plc (Singapore wholly owned subsidiary of Plaut Australia) and Computer Based Solutions Pty Ltd.

David has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Computer Science and a Diploma in Electrical Engineering.

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